


no justice to the man with no life

by Vri



Category: Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, id promise to continue this if i could, tags and relationships to be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:01:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23250640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vri/pseuds/Vri
Summary: basically, minato takes the place of akira. completely self-indulgent and will probably never be finished, considering my track record.
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> basically im writing this while im sick so like hahahaaaaaaa oh god i havent written anything in so long hELP

Minato really didn't know how he'd gotten himself into this situation. Or, rather, why he'd gotten himself into this situation.

He had no concerns for the problems of others. Hell, it was only because his phone was dead that he even heard that woman's scream. So why on _earth_ had he made the _oh=so-brilliant_ decision to step in and try to stop it? Play the hero for once?

Yeah, look at where that got him. 

He didn't really remember the trial all too well. He hadn't been paying much attention, because he'd known the outcome from the very beginning. The look in the judge's eyes, the lack of the man's presence, everything...something about it had felt fishy. Might as well not even try for hope when it's only going to get stomped into the dust. Blah blah, assault, guilty verdict, something about probation in Tokyo. 

He didn't remember the following conversation with his guardians, either. Blah blah, don't get in trouble, blah blah, Shujin Academy, something about not causing trouble. It all started to sound the same, really. He'd tuned them out under the sound of music that wasn't really playing.

And now here he was. Standing on a crowded train on his way to his new house. The invasion of personal space was really, really annoying. The bodies that constantly brushing up against his own, bumping against his side and his head and his shoulders...ugh. Minato was hardly two hours into his probation, and he already wanted to go back. He didn't care for whispers or stares; he got them enough as it already was. But at least at home, there was _space_. 

Oh, here he was. Shibuya square. He stepped off of the train, took a few steps outside, and then time stopped. Blink. What the _fuck_. A pounding voice in his head, a blazing fire, and then everything went back to normal. _Okay...that was really weird_. Minato shook his head and looked down at his phone, frowning slightly at the screen. When had this weird...eye thing gotten onto his phone? He was into some weird stuff, but not _that_ kind of weird. Sighing, Minato dragged the weird app to the trash bin.

...he'd have to ask Fuuka to look at his phone when he gets back.

Oh, wait, that was a year away.

Minato groaned, rubbing his temples as he navigated the disgustingly busy streets. He was outside, but this was no better than the train. Damn. 

Well, he had things to do. Mainly finding this...Yogen-Jaya place. And...a Sakura Sojiro person. The person who was going to be taking care of him for the next year. Hopefully, he'd at least be bearable.

* * *

A cafe. Sakura Sojiro had stuck Minato into a cafe. More precisely, the cafe's attic, but it was still a cafe. And he had to do the cleaning himself. Shouldn't he have been better prepared for this? But, well, it didn't really matter too much. Minato just nodded along to the music playing in his earbuds and dusted, cleared the floor, rearranged the room to his liking...all of that. It took a solid few hours, really, and Minato flopped down on the bed when he was done. Or, rather, the pathetic excuse of a bed that had been provided: an old mattress slung on top of a few milk crates. Leaning back, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and was right about to start playing some games when he saw it again. That red and black eye.

Again?

Tap and hold. Drag to trash bin. He thought he'd done that already, but apparently not. Or it would have had to come back to his phone...well, whatever. Tomorrow, he was going to have a tour of his new school. Shujin Academy...a perfectly underwhelming school without anything particularly noteworthy about it. It was entirely average in pretty much everything - except volleyball, of course. Apparently, they had a former Olympian teaching it? Not like Minato cared. He was more of a fencing guy. Speaking of which... _I wonder if they have a fencing team_. Minato thought about it idly, casting his gaze about the room for anything that could do as a makeshift sabre. Nothing.

Minato stood. Paused his music, took his headphones off, placed them on the bed. Raised his left hand, miming the act of holding a foil, and stared in front of him at an imaginary opponent. Shuffled forward. Flick. Step back, parry. Rinse, repeat. Added in a feint or two. He could almost see it, almost feel it. The extensive protective gear, the weight of the sabre, the person in front of him trying their best to score a hit. The tension in the air, the adrenaline flowing through his system...his senses became laser-focused, his moves became faster and faster, and he was just getting into it-

"The hell is all this racket?" Sakura's voice sliced straight through Minato's practice bout. Confused, somewhat annoyed, and entirely unimpressed. "Huh, it actually looks pretty good in here." The old cafe owner looked around the new-and-improved attic with an appreciative gaze, nodding his approval. "Didn't expect you to actually clean up." _What, you expected me to live in dust so thick I could make snow angels in?_ "Look, anyways, I don't really care too much about what you do. Just try not to make too much noise and don't cause any trouble." _Gee, thanks. Not like I've ever heard that in my life._

Sakura was gone. Minato sighed, stretching before heading over to the baths to wash up. As he was soaking in the water, the boy stared at nothing as he reflected on the day. It...wasn't terrible, he supposed, but it was still rather annoying. Tokyo was too noisy, too crowded, too _different_ from what he knew. He didn't cry. He'd exhausted his capacity for tears a long time ago. But his eyes were empty. Hollow and dull. They'd been that way ever since...

_The heat. It was too hot to bear. Flames licked at every surface he could see - which wasn't much. There was too much smoke in the air. It hurt to even think about breathing. The smell was horrible. It wasn't just normal smoke. He could smell something else burning. He couldn't hear them anymore._

_"M-Mom?" He pushed what little air out of his chest in a cough. "Dad? Hamu?" He wheezed, casting his gaze around the area in desperation. He couldn't see them. He crawled more, looked more, and that's when he found out. He found a small hand. Hamuko. He tugged frantically. No response. It was limp. Tugged more. The body slid out a bit. His eyes widened._

_Oh._

_Oh._

_She was dead._

_He couldn't even register the sirens, the flashing blue and red. He could only see his sister in front of him, at seven years old, crying and hiccuping and trying to make her wake up and not being able to make her move again._

_And then there was black._

Minato stared at the water. A few days after that, he'd woken up at the hospital. That was the day he cried all of the tears he could cry. There was nothing left now.

He walked back into the cafe, headed back up the the attic without acknowledging any of the customers nor Sojiro. There was nothing left for him to do. He laid down in bed and closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> um im still sick and my head hurts but ig im on a roll today

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im back babies

Minato woke up with a headache. He'd had a strange dream. Honestly, he barely remembered anything about it - he could only recall bits and pieces. Deep blue, a lady's singing, a man with a long nose, and something about ruin? A sigh. He shrugged on his clothes and went after Sakura, shoving his hands in his pockets. He stared out the window, not bothering to even attempt small talk. Sakura did the same. He pulled his headphones off when they did eventually reach the school, opening the door of the car. So...this was the school. Yeah...entirely boring and ordinary. This year was going to be _just great_. 

He tuned out most of the things going on. The only thing he actually paid any attention to was the tour. None of the thinly-veiled barbed comments about his record, none of Kawakami's half-hearted attempts at chatting. He just nodded along to the tour, committing the layout of the school to memory. And then the tour was over. Done and done.

The school had been a school. Of that fact, Minato had been entirely certain.

So someone had better _fucking_ explain why a castle stood in its place on his first day.

Minato tried, he really did, to figure out where it was he'd gone wrong. He'd taken the right train, he'd walked the right path...he'd stopped for about two seconds to see that blonde girl get picked up by some adult who'd been labelled as Kamoshida by that other kid he'd come across. Or, rather, who'd come across him. Oh, he'd offered to show a shortcut...maybe that was why. But, really, Minato had been in the area. There certainly weren't any castles anywhere close to Shujin Academy. Actually, there weren't any castles anywhere, especially not that kind of western-style building. Minato was right about to turn around and leave when he caught a glimpse of the name. _Shujin Academy_. Well, it sure as hell wasn't a school, but...it was worth investigating. 

That was, he supposed, how he got himself thrown into what seemed to be a prison cell on his first day of school. He really had been planning on having a regular school year, free of any weird incidents, only for this to happen. Sitting up from his lying position on the cobblestone floor, he immediately touched his head, trying to alleviate the pain that spiked in his head from that simple action. "Ah..." he groaned quietly, rubbing his temples with small circular motions. "Well, fuck, there goes a decent first day." He muttered to himself, staring around. Looked like his cellmate was that blond dude from earlier.

Upon a first glance, it didn't look like there was any way out. No windows they could use to slip away, no trapdoor in the corner of the room, and the bars were way too thin for even Minato to slip through. He sighed, raking his hands through his hair in frustration. He just wanted to go to school.

The sound of footsteps broke Minato out of his stupor. He raised his eyes to the bars yet again...and choked. It was that older guy from before, the one he'd seen take that girl into his car. But...he could barely keep a straight face. Never mind the dorky crown or the absolutely eye-bleeding heart-patterned cape. No, the fact that he was wearing a _glittery pink Speedo_ was just...hilarious. 

Oh, wait, that Sakamoto kid - at least, that was what his name seemed to be - was getting beat on. Huh, that wasn't good. Not like it was any of his conce-

_Don't be ridiculous._

What?

_You did what you did that night for a reason._

No...

_From the depths of your heart, do you regret your actions?_

...

 _Answer_ _me_.

...

_Answer me!_

...no.

_Good...now, it is time to unlock what has been hidden away._

It hurt.

_Awaken._

Minato cried out, clutching his head.

_I am thou, thou art I._

He screamed.

_You, who are destined to protect this world with your own hands..._

He reached up to his face. A mask seemed to be there, and he grabbed at its edge.

_Rain death upon those who would otherwise bring injustice!_

"Thanatos...come."

Minato yanked at the mask, cold iron tearing away from his face hard enough to draw blood. Blue flames burned away what had been ripped away, traveling up his figure. Generic school shoes made way for black boots, the red and black plaid for pure black pants, a single brown belt tied around his right thigh. Whatever his shirt transformed in was completely obscured by a ragged black coat with chains hanging from it, belts wrapped around his shoulders. It was all very reminiscent of the _thing_ that arose behind him when the mask dissolved into a burst of flame. A large iron helmet hiding its face, a more or less humanoid body, wings of coffins, chains hanging from its shoulders, and a long black cloak. A small smirk made its way onto Minato's features as he stared at the suits of armour and the twisted version of the teacher. 

"So, who's in the mood to die?"

* * *

Minato stared up at the officer questioning him and Sakamoto about not being at school. "I got lost." He said mildly, fixing his dead-eyed stare at the officer. Really, it was something that never failed to unnerve people, and this officer was no exception. After a quick dismissal, he meandered his way over to campus. He was already late; no need to be in any rush.

Blah blah, getting yelled at by Kawakami, blah blah, that one chick from earlier sat in front of him, normal school. He was totally looking forward to getting chewed out by Sakura. Sighing, he put his headphones on as he prepared to exit the school and get back to Leblanc...only to be stopped by Sakamoto. They went back and forth, trying to figure out how they'd gotten to the castle. After three times, though, Minato brushed him off and went back. No need to waste energy, especially not when he had a vague idea of how to handle things.

Sakura's scolding wasn't fun. It was shorter than he'd anticipated, which he was thankful for, but it was still nowhere near enjoyable. Minato just waited until he was done and headed up to the attic, pulling his phone out. As he'd thought, the red eye was back. And when he entered the app, there was something quite interesting there. _Kamoshida Suguru, Shujin Academy, castle._ Hmm. Well, whatever. He didn't really have any plans of going back to that place, anyway.

After doing a bit of homework, Minato washed up and slipped into bed. He was...exceptionally tired. Maybe it had something to do with that whole castle excursion...his eyes slipped shut.

_So...it seems that you've awakened to your power. That is good...my name is Igor. Remember it well._

_These are my assistants, Justine and Caroline. We welcome you to our Velvet Room._

_Take care to make bonds. Those will increase your power._

_I wish you luck on your rehabilitation._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time to take bets on when im gonna disappear B)
> 
> okay, so i chose thanatos for a reason. i KNOW that orpheus is minato's "true" persona, but ann already has fire. thanatos can take the place of arsene for curse skills, and it just provides better balance throughout the whole team. 
> 
> also, the design for minato's phantom thief outfit comes from ace-closed on tumblr:  
> https://ace-closed.tumblr.com/page/12


End file.
